Dr. Gwendolyn Barnes Means
October 30, 1930 - November 22, 2024
Saturday, January 11, 2025
9:00 AM Wake - 10:00 AM Mass
Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church 12th and Monroe St. NE
Washington, DC 20018
Father Fred Close, Pastor
Biography of Dr. Gwendolyn Barnes Means
Gwendolyn Cecilia Barnes is the first of nine children, born to Milton Barnes and Cecilia Jones on October 30, 1930, in Washington, DC. She grew up in a flat (all living quarters on same level) on HanoverPlace,aone-blockstreetwithoneexit/entranceoffNorthCapitolStreetand5alternativeexits throughalleysleadingtoNStreet,OStreet,andFirstStreet.Itwasknowncolloquiallyasthe“Gap”.
GwendolynstartedschoolattheJohnF.Cook ES,just3blocksfromherhome. Shewaswithinwalking distance of Robert H. Terrell JHS and Paul Lawrence Dunbar HS, all a part of division 10-13 of the segregated District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). Fortunately for Gwendolyn, she was entering school with a group of students whose parents were part of a middle-income professional population focusedoneducatingthenextgeneration.Shewassurroundedbyadultsandotherparentswithsimilar expectations.Bythetimeshereachedthe6th grade,herintellectualacuitywasrecognized,andshealong with her best buddy, were tested at a special office. As a result, Gwendolyn, along with seven other studentswerepromotedfromGrade6toGrade8.
Gwendolyn’s intellectual performance continued to be notable through junior high school. Her picture appearedin theschool paperwiththeheadline “She’sTops!” Membersoftheelementaryschoolgroup rejoinedinhighschoolinthesamesection(homeroom). Amemberofthissectionresearchedthisgroup as a graduate school project and discovered that the group had been the subject of a planned study interested in elementary school. The Dunbar Class of 1947 had 2 valedictorians (all A’s) and 4 salutatorians(1B),ofwhichGwendolynwasone.
Although the family’s finances did not allow Gwendolyn to take the Merit Exams, she did have the attention of a member of the Miner Teachers College Alumni Association who recommended her as a first recipient of the Harold D. Martin (named for an alumnus killed in WW II) Scholarship. The scholarshippaidfortuitionandbooksforfouryearsasalongasanhonorsaveragewasmaintained. She was initiated into Miner’s chapter of Kappa Delta Pi, the honors fraternity for undergraduate students aspiring to become teachers. She pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc. with several of her long-time grade school friends, becoming a soror in 1948. She remained an active member for 76 years, a Diamond soror. In February 2022, Dr. Means worked with the Pearl and Ivy Educational Foundation, Inc. to establish the Gwendolyn Barnes Means Family Legacy Fund. This Scholarship Endowment Fund is for graduates of DC Public Schools who will be attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities, pursuingeducational,vocational,technicalorotherwiseemergingfields.
Aftercollegegraduation,marriageandthebirthoffivechildren,Gwendolyncontinuedtoshareherlove forlearning,returningtoteachingscienceintheDistrictofColumbiaPublicSchoolsatGarnettPatterson JHS. The New Math program was now a national focus; DCPS recruited all teachers who had any preparation in teaching mathematics. Gwendolyn was recruited. Her leadership skills were recognized and as a result, Gwendolyn served as department chair in mathematics and union representative at Stuart JHS. Mathematics remained the focus area of her teaching from that point on. She served as a teacher, mentor and team leader in the “Little School Program”. She was an original member of the faculty that opened H.D. Woodson SHS in 1972. She also was a part of the faculty support staff for the H.D.WoodsonSHSMarchingBandwhentheytraveledtoawaygames.
Duringthistime,Gwendolynalsocontinuedhereducationearningamaster’sdegreeineducationfrom FederalCityCollege(1972).SheleftH.D.Woodsonin1976toserveasaninstructionalsupporteducator funded by a federal program that provided job-imbedded professional development with an emphasis onmathinstructionforDCPSteachers. Whentheprogram’sfundingended(1983),Gwendolynreturned to graduate school to earn a doctorate in Education from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
Universityin mathandscienceinstruction. Asan activememberin theAssociation ofSupervisionand Curriculum Development (ASCD), she served as an officer as well as a session presenter with other colleagues at their annual conference (1980). They were showcasing the highly regarded CompetencyBasedCurriculumwrittenbyDCPS. Dr.MeansservedastheAssistantDirectorofMathematicsinDCPS untilsheretiredin1989.
Dr. Means was initiated into the American University Chapter 0151 of Phi Delta Kappa in 1980 and servedasVicePresidentforProgrammingfortwoyears,thenPresidentofthechapterforoneterm.She continuedtoservethechapterinavarietyofrolesincludingnewslettereditor,amemberoftheScience Fair and Student Symposium Committees. She visited schools along with other Kappans, to coach students participating in fairs and the symposiums at a variety of schools in DCPS, Prince George’s County Public Schools, and Montgomery County Public Schools. She introduced and sponsored many activemembersofthechapter. HerworkonbehalfofAU-PDKextendedtothenationallevelwhereshe servedasadelegateforseveralyearsatmanyPDKconventions.Inrecentyears,Dr.Meansrepresented the AU chapter at the PDK Conference on Gallop Polls in Washington, DC and served on the Research Committee.After44years,shewasstillaskingquestionsandsuggestingareaswherethechaptershould focusitsresources.
Duringheractiveyears,GwendolynservedwiththeSodalityCommitteeofSt.AnthonyofPaduaChurch, preparing goodie bags for her visits to members who were in assisted living facilities or homebound. She was an active member of the Tonies, organizing trips and making reservations for showsatthevarioustheatersinDCandMD.Additionally,shefaithfullyservedtheKnightsofColumbus as a member of the Mary Magdalene Auxiliary of the Immaculate Conception Shrine Council #4944, whileassistingthecouncilwithitsprogramofsocial,culturalandreligiousobjectives.Theauxiliaryalso promoteditsownprogram,aidingpregnancycenters,andprovidingawardstograduatesofDCPScareer center, and scholarships to pupils of grade schools who planned to attend Catholic high schools and more.
Dr. Means was an active member of the local Postal Council, the Orange Hats for Community Policing, and DC Department of Recreation where she worked with young people to adopt and care for small parksaroundTurkeyThicketandN.MichiganParkRecreationCenters.Dr.Meansstartedandtaughtline dancing classes for many years at the Ward 5 Model City Senior Center. When her knees began to protest the dancing, she continued to support the class from the sidelines and recruited, a long-time campingbuddyandclosefriend,totakeovertheinstruction.Thatprogramcontinuestothrivetoday.
Whenshewasn’tworkinginthecommunity,Dr.Meanswasoutcamping.Shewasacharter memberof theDCRamblers. Thegroup campedtogether monthlyat localstateparksandRVparksin theDMV& Eastern Shore. In the summer, she would drive out west with fellow Ramblers, to the National Family Campers Convention to represent DC. When she decided that she no longer enjoyed driving her RV on thehighways,shecontinuedtotraveltocampgroundsviatheautotrain.
GwendolynwasanactiveparticipantinherfamilybookclubandanavidScrabbleplayer.IntheScrabble Club, sheservedasthe treasurerandwasresponsibleforsecuringarecreationcenterroomforthebimonthly games. The club was filled with neighbors and friends who played very competitive games! When the pandemic shut down in-person activities, she began playing online with a soror. She helped returntheScrabbleclubtoin-personplayinJanuary2024.
ThesearesomeofthemanyactivitiesandaccomplishmentsthatGwendolynwasinvolvedin. Thelist goeson!Wecelebrateyou,mom…foralifewelllived.
Order of Service
Opening Hymn
First Reading Ecclesiastes3:1-15
Responsorial Psalm
R./ TheLordismyshepherdthereisnothingIshallwant.
Second Reading Galatians6:1-10
Gospel John14:1-6
Homily
Prayer of the Faithful
Offertory Hymn
Presentation of the Gifts and Preparation of the Altar
Eucharistic Prayer
Holy,Holy,Holy MysteryofFaith
Lord’sPrayer SignofPeace
LambofGod
Communion Hymn God Has Smiled On Me
Meditation Lift Me Up Eulogy
Closing Hymn Soon and Very Soon
Recessional
Pallbearers Family
Acknowledgements
The Family would like to extend their sincere appreciation to Pastor Fr. Fred Close, Deacon JohnFeeley,Mr.JoeBrinley,Ms.LynneGray,theSodality,andtheentireSt.AnthonyofPadua Church and School Family; Monsignor Raymond East, Knights of Columbus, Shrine Council, Drs.LeslieKingslowandMargaretAkpanandtheER&ICUstaffattheWashingtonHospital Center;neighbors,themanyfriends,AmericanUniversityKappans,colleaguesandSororsof AlphaKappaAlpha,Inc.,XiOmegaChapterforyouractsoflove,kindness,prayers,supports, cards and gifts during the illness and homegoing of our beloved Dr. Gwendolyn Barnes Means. Your outpouring of love is of great comfort to us. May God in his own magnificent way,continuetoblessandstrengthenyou.
Repast
ImmediatelyfollowingtheService
St.AnthonySchoolCafeteria
Interment
GatesofHeavenCemetery 13801GeorgiaAve,SilverSpring,MD20906 2:00pm
Donations
In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Dr. Gwendolyn Barnes Means can be made to the DunbarAlumni Federation, Inc. @ www.daf-dc.org or the Gwendolyn Barnes Means Legacy Fund c/o the Pearl and Ivy Educational Foundation, Inc. @ akaxo.org; or mail checks to the Pearl and Ivy Educational Foundation, Inc. (payable to PIEF, Inc.) with Gwendolyn Barnes Means Legacy Fund in the memo to P.O. Box 75094, Washington, DC 20013.
